A&P may be a supermarket chain, but judging by its string of new health-and-wellness initiatives and strong emphasis on pharmacy, one could argue that it really is a pharmacy with a grocery store wrapped around it.

Through A&P’s network of 200 pharmacies and 605 pharmacists, the company is aggressively looking for ways to improve the health and well-being of its shoppers. And that includes improving medication adherence.

Regional player Fruth Pharmacy is re- energizing its business. “We are entering our 59th year of business and trying to continue to provide that small-town, quality customer service while staying competitive and on the cutting edge with all of the programs that are out there on the pharmacy side,” said Lynne Fruth, chairman and newly appointed Fruth president.

In the May issue of Consumer Reports, a report found that such independents as McKesson’s Health Mart franchise group are delivering the goods.

McKesson helped capitalize on what has always been an exemplary Health Mart patient experience at the top of last year with a multi- million-dollar ad campaign that included an ad during the New Orleans Saints/Indianapolis Colts Super Bowl. That 2010 campaign featured real Health Mart pharmacists with stories on how they have impacted their local communities by taking the time to care and provide special services.

Most Care Pharmacies are located within and around the nation’s capital, and that suggests Care represents the face of pharmacy for a lot of influential Beltway executives.

“[That proximity] really is an opportunity for us to represent independent pharmacy,” said Michael Wysong, Care CEO, whose office resides in the same building as the National Community Pharmacists Association. “We [also] co-market a [quality assurance] manual with NCPA. That’s a perfect example where we’re working hand in hand.”

Offering a holistic approach to health is the goal of K-VA-T Food City stores, integrating pharmacy, food and good living.

To this end, last spring the chain launched NuVal, a nutritional scoring system that helps consumers make better food choices. The system was launched in all stores, and according to Don Clark, VP pharmacy services, it’s doing very well.

Chain pharmacies and independent pharmacies each have their advantages and disadvantages. Chains generally follow a top-down business model that requires all stores to be roughly identical in terms of their look and services, but they can offer those services to customers around the country. Independents’ services usually are limited to one or a handful of locations in a single geographic area, but they have more freedom in terms of their mix of products and services.

The new Pharmaca stores make a very bold statement about the relationship between pharmacy and prevention. The company unveiled its new store design in Menlo Park, Calif., in November 2010. The 6,800-sq.-ft. store continues Pharmaca’s “integrative pharmacy” model, which emphasizes holistic approaches to health care and features eight licensed practitioners.

Rite Aid recently has put into play a number of forward-looking initiatives to help improve operations, particularly across pharmacy. The Pennsylvania-based retailer last month announced its test market of six new Wellness store prototypes, and after successfully testing a 15-minute prescription guarantee in three states, Rite Aid expanded that guarantee to all states except New York.

Like most retailers in California, combo-store pioneer Raley’s Supermarkets has been in a slow growth mode since the recession began in 2008. “We still have 105 pharmacies, so not a lot has changed in the past few years,” said John Segale, a spokesman for the Sacramento-based chain.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Studies have indicated that the best people to get patients to adhere to their medication therapies are store pharmacists, while the second-best people are nurses. Thus, it’s only natural that getting nurses and pharmacists to collaborate will further improve adherence. The collaborative care track that The Drug Store News Group will introduce at the Retail Clinician Education Congress in August is a step in that direction.

The pharmacist isn’t just someone in a white coat who hands out bottles of pills anymore. The role of pharmacists has been changing and expanding dramatically over the last several years.

Now, pharmacists in all 50 states can offer a service previously reserved for doctors and nurses: administering vaccinations. Retail pharmacies across the country are racing to join the immunization trend, with Weis Markets recently announcing that it would spend the year making sure all its pharmacists were trained to give vaccinations.

Armed with the positioning line, “It’s Time To Get Better,” Sav-Mor Drug Stores continues to emphasize the big difference between its network of franchised locations and the corporate mentality of the chain operations.

To that end, its most recent radio and television campaign positioned the pharmacies against the large national chains. The customer- service-focused campaign established the Sav-Mor pharmacist as “your personal pharmacist” along with the idea that “nobody cares more for the customer than the owner.”

On top of its 101 in-store pharmacies, Schnucks last year opened four specialty pharmacies, offering specialized services to patients.

The pharmacies offer services for patients living with such chronic conditions as HIV, cancer, multiple sclerosis and autoimmune diseases, as well as for people recovering from organ transplants, said company spokesman Paul Simon. “It’s for patients who require special attention and hard-to-source medication,” he added.

Target is encouraging customers to direct their sights toward its in-store pharmacies with its “Ask Us” campaign. The campaign includes signage located throughout the store designed to direct shoppers to seek information from pharmacists about everything from allergies to generic discounts, promoting Target’s pharmacists as experts on medicines.

The signage includes floor graphics in the aisles leading to the pharmacy counter, signs hanging from ceilings and placards posted on endcaps.

Comparison shopping across blood-glucose meters couldn’t be easier than at Walgreens. Pictured here at a store just outside of Baltimore, customers can hold and feel the individual monitors and review individual bullet points as part of this pull-box display. Located just outside the pharmacy waiting area, the display also is ideal for quick and easy pharmacist recommendations.

Pharmacy sales at Weis Markets increased 2.2% in 2010 vs. 2009 thanks in part to strong cough-cold sales over the year and the expansion of its pharmacy-based immunization program to most stores; Weis currently boasts 180 pharmacists who are certified by their respective boards of pharmacy to administer vaccines, the grocer reported.

United Water and the National Community Pharmacists Association on Thursday announced a partnership to encourage people throughout the United States to properly dispose of their unused or expired medications in an environmentally friendly manner.

Local retail pharmacies are not just a place to get a prescription filled; they also offer several perks that can help consumers save time and money and live healthier lives. That was a key message in a recent "CBS News" segment.

The National Community Pharmacists Association and Purdue Pharma announced the start of “Protect Your Pharmacy Week” — a reflection of the Protect Your Pharmacy Now! initiative that began in 2008 to encourage pharmacists to protect their stores, staff and patients against pharmacy crimes, including prescription drug robbery and thefts.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores submitted on Thursday an official statement to the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, highlighting pharmacy's commitment in partnering with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders to help prevent and combat prescription drug diversion and misuse.

Local pharmacists work with patients and law enforcement to combat the abuse of controlled substances and other prescription drugs, but changes to federal policy are needed to allow pharmacists to play a greater role, the National Community Pharmacists Association suggested Thursday in comments submitted to Congress.

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Are we in the midst of a beauty revolution? Perhaps. It is no secret that the ever-changing beauty category is all about trends, but one could argue that we are embarking on an especially interesting time in beauty as technology is changing the way consumers shop and new innovations strive to break through the noise.

In this beauty report, Drug Store News takes a deeper dive into some of the leading trends that are reshaping beauty.more ...

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In this issue, DSN examines PricewaterhouseCoopers' "Top Health Industry Issues for 2015;" takes you on a tour of Murad, shares beauty trends and insights and delves into location-based technology and how it is revolutionizing health, retail.Click here to view the issue.